Sanitary mask



April 22 1924. 1,491,674

C. COLETTI SANITARY MASK Filed July 8 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY WITNESS:

April 22 1924.

C. COLETTI SANITARY MASK Filed July 8, )922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 C. INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESS:

Patented Apr. 22,1924.

UNITED STATES\ v 1,491,614 PATENT OFFICE.

GATALDO COLETTI, 01. 011W, NEW YORK.

Sam-ram? uasx.

I Application fled July 8,

To allv whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, CATALDO Comm, a citizen of the United States, residing at Olean, in the count of Cattaraugus and State of New York, ave invented new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Masks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sanitary devices and has for its object the provision of a novel mask designed primarily to be worn by workers in places where there is a great amount of dust, the device being for the purpose of puri 'ng the air so that the dust will not be breat ed in.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character which encloses the nose and mouth of the wearer and which is provided with novel fastening means enga ing the ears for holding it in place.

other object is the provision of a device of this character which is provided with novel air filtering means, the filtering means being capable ofsaturation by disinfectant so as to render the device advantageous for use by nurses, doctors and others coming in contact with contagious diseases, the device being furthermore of great benefit when worn by surgeons for removing germs and impurities from their exhalations and preventing possible infection of a pa-' tient operated upon.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character which will be simple and inexpensive in manufacture, which may be worn continuously without discomfort,

which is operable to permit ready removal of the filtering medium and which will be a neral improvement in the art.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my device in applied position,

Figure 2 is a side elevation,

Figure 3 is a detail longitudinal section through one of the filtering members,

Figure 4 is a cross section therethrough,

Figure 5 is a. detail section through an ed of the shell of the device.

eferring more particularly to the draw- I have shown my device as comprising a partially spherical shell of some light material such for instance as thin sheet alu- 19a. Serial No. 578,588.

minum. This shell is' so cut and formed at its open side as to fit conformingl over the bridge of the nose, against the cheeks and beneath the chin of the wearer and it is preferable that the free edge carry a rubber binding 11 which includes a tubular face engaging portion 12 which will operateas a. pneumatic pad for making a substantiall air tight joint against the skin while avoid ing any discomfort. This binding is grooved as shown at 13 for frictional engagement upon the edge of the shell as shown most clearly inFi ure 5.

It is of course conceivzfble that this shell might be held in place by anyone of various means though in actual practice I prefer to provide straps 14 at each side of the shell engageable about the wearers ears, these straps being provided with adjusting buckles 15 so that the device may be made to fit upon difi'erent persons.

The shell is provided at opposite sides with openings over which are secured the flanged edges 16 of conduit members 17 which are tubular in form, and which have their outer ends reduced as shown at 18 to define shoulders 19. Detachably associated with each conduit member is a filtering device comprising a tube 20 having one end enlarged as shown at- 21 and formed with a curved flange 22 adapted to engage about the reduced extension 18 and containing arubber gasket 23 operating-to make a tight fit with the associated conduit member. Secured within the enlarged portion 21 is a flanged member 24 to which is secured a disk 25 of gauze. Located within the tube 20 is absorbent material 26 which may be a sponge or which may be some other material capable of being saturated with li uid. The outer end of each tube 20 is close by a flanged ring 27 which is covered by gauze 28.

In the operation of the device it is intended that the sponge or other absorbent material 26 be saturated with water. When the device is secured upon the face of the wearer it is apparent that respiration is through the filtering members. The gauze 28 will operate to remove the major portion of the dust, the sponge 26 will remove most of what passes by the gauze 28 and the very fine gauze 25 will still further exert a purlfying efiect so that by thetime air drawn into the device is inhaled by the wearer it will be frcm all dust and dirt, so that.

its

wearer against contagion. In case of a surgeon the device would operate also to remove impurities and germs from his breath to prevent possible infection of an incision during an operation, especially as the tubular air conduits face toward the back of,

the head.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a very simply constructed and easily applied sanitary mask which will be a great convenience under many conditions and which may be worn without discomfort. As there are no moving parts it is apparent that there is nothing to get out of order so that the device should have a long life.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention it is of course to be understood that I reserve the meacra right to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of arts as will not depart from the spirit of t e invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

In a device of the character described, a shell member adapted for engagement upon the lower portion of a persons face to enclose the nose and mouth, conduit members communicating with the interior of said shell and having flaring attaching portions secured external y upon the shell, said conduit members having reduced ends defining shoulders, a tubular receptacle containing absorbent material and having one end enlarged to form a shoulder, said enlarged portion being bulged outwardly for engagement upon the reduced end of the conduit and containing a packing gasket, a screen carrying frame located within said receptacle and engaging against the second named shoulder and the adjacent reduced end of the conduit, and a screen carrying rim screwed on the other end of the receptacle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CATALDO COLETTI. 

